In the food industry, phosphates, polyphosphates and their salts are used, for example, as emulsifying agents in the production of processed cheese. The inhibitory effects of three commercially available phosphates and polyphosphates differing in their chain length (690, S9 and HBS) were tested on a set of 15 gram-positive or gram-negative CCM (Czech Collection of Microorganisms) strains and on 12 bacterial strains isolated from processed cheeses. Five different concentrations of each phosphate were chosen (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% w/v) in order to observe the inhibitory effects of the phosphate salts on the growth of the microorganisms tested. Sensitivity of the individual bacterial strains to phosphates was observed in a liquid cultivation medium which was supplemented with applied salts. Subsequently, the growth in cells was determined by measuring optical density at a wavelength of 600 nm. According to the results, 690 and S9 phosphates, containing mainly orthophosphates, diphosphates (pyrophosphates) and short-chain polyphosphates, do not have a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of the bacteria tested. Significant inhibitory effects were observed only in HBS salt (a mixture of long-chain polyphosphates), which showed antibacterial effects on all gram-positive bacteria tested (both the CCM strains and those isolated from processed cheeses). The antibacterial effect of phosphates on gram-positive microorganisms is growing with the increasing length of the polyphosphate chain. This study has not proved a significant effect of the phosphates tested on the growth of gram-negative bacteria used.